Work in Progress Wednesday: Monthly Menu Planning

I was so excited this morning to find out that we have food money.  I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited about something so seemingly small, but we’ve really been struggling, and I am so thankful that we can finally put food on the table without worrying about eating the same thing every day or if there will be enough for all of us.

I was so excited, in fact, I wasted no time in setting up our menu for the next month.  The money will last us about a month, so I planned from today’s date for about a month out.

There are a few things I really like about menu planning and why I think it’s a good idea for anybody to do if you have a grocery budget.  (I understand that if you don’t have a grocery budget, you can’t very well plan ahead.)

1) It saves money in the long run.  Buying in bulk when items are on sale is much cheaper than buying as you need them.  Granted, this won’t work with fresh produce.  I would recommend buying as needed once or twice a week.  This also won’t work if you don’t stick to the menu.  I understand sometimes things come up, but then the next month you should make sure to make up the missed recipes so nothing goes to waste.

2) Menu planning also also reduces time and stress.  Having something planned and ready ahead of time will save you from that last minute trip to the grocery store for something you forgot as well as the stress of “what are we having for dinner tonight?” and having to try to throw things together at the last minute.  I experience this myself when we don’t have a budget.  I spend more time staring at the cupboards every day wondering what we’re going to eat and what I need to thaw out than it takes to plan out the menu.

Now that I’ve planned out the menu and printed out any extra recipes I’ll need, I need to make out my grocery list based on current inventory and do the shopping.

What’s on your menu this month?